Apparatus for manufacturing expanded metal.



N. E. CLARK. APPARATUS FOR MANUFACTURING EXPANDED METAL.

Patented July 14, 1914.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

A? W If M ll N. E. CLARK. APPARATUS FOR MANUFAGTUBING EXPANDED METAL.

. APPLIGATION FILED 111111.12, 1906. 1,103,033. Patented July 14,1914.

4 BHEETS--BHBET 2.

N. E. CLARK.

APPARATUS FOR MANUFACTURING EXPANDED METAL.

APPLIGATI ON FILED JAN. 12, 1906.

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N. E. CLARK. APPARATUS FOR MANUFACTURING EXPANDED METAL.

APPLICATION FILED JAN; 12, 1906.

Patented July 14, 1914.

1% Inwmca i2, and the diagram of Fig. 9, are for the eonstruetion of expanded metal from transversely slitted stock. It is not neeessary for the slits to be exartly at right angles to the length of the stoek but. simply that they ex tend generally 'in a transverse direetion So that the sheet wan he stretrlaal forwardly. l is the table of the marhine on which the transversely litted stoelt fed. 3, a 5 and U are eylindri 'al frirtion rolls driven at ditferent. speeds. raeh sueeessive roll revolvine at a slightly greater peripheral speed than the next pre eding roll. 'lhese rolls are arranged in pairs ahore and below the line of travel of the steelt. T is the delivery table where the expanded storlt H is delivered. The [ital area of the stot'k is inereased, whereas its width is alert-eased in the preeess ot' inanufai'tiire. E is a suitable driiiug pulley. ttl is a gear wheel on the shaft of the driving pulley. whieh drives the lower set otrolls El. 4. fl and 6 by means of the train of gears 11. i2. 1 5, M, 15. ll?- 17. la and 19. The upper rolls 3. -1 ."i and ti have gears 20. .21. :22 and 23. whi h are driven by eorresponiling gears whirli rotate with the lower rolls 3. 4', 5 and '5". Quit-i hle means. sac-h as the press serews 1H. i. 263 and ii' may be employed for adjusting the pressure (Ytl'tttl between the rolls or adjusting the height of the tap rolls. lhe StOtli is fed between the rolls where it is gripped tightly. it passes along. the front edge is caught hy the r lls -t t" whit-h are trawling at a slightly greater periphtl'ttl peed. This t'rii'tional eiugagg enient draw out the stud; and opens up the slits to t'orm openings. The rolls :I 5 operate in the same way. but rotating at a greater speed than the rolls l--l to draw out. the stia-h still l'arther. The drawing and expansii n is eoiainued by rol s t) it and may he wintinaed indefinitely up to the limits ol' the size of mesh ol" the produi't desired. fit the ame time that the e'q'iaini n is ltllil lfj pla 'e the tia'li is lwinn' irons intly rolled so as to present. a eoni aratively tini hed atrl'aee whieh is flat and lies in the original plane oi the slot-k. in the diagram in Fin. 9. 2S indirate saitahle teed rolls. Al 139' are suitable. slitting punch and lth-3h are suitable detirerv and linisle ing rolls. This illustrates that the iniention may he earried out by a ontinnous proee lt is pretermt. howei'er. that there shall he a loop of on idera le size l'ornn-d in the slitted stoel: between the punt-h fill art the rolls so that the rolling prowess may he eonlinneus while the punt-h operation is intermittent. the punt-h being at the rei'iproeat ins: type.

lnlin'. 3 and the diagram oi Fig. 7*. the

uiiu'linally slittrit tit-1;, the tnaehine. 3;?

whieh is fed onto the table. 3 is a. slitting roll driven by a suitable gearing (not shown) from the pulley 3- 32' indie-ates the slitted stoek. .lli indirates one of a. pair of feed rolls driven from the pulley shaft 35 by means of beret gears $lT--- lT. The lower roll 5H3, i-orrespomling to 56, (see Fig. 8) is provided with a gear similar to gear 38 with whirh it meshes for driving purposes. 93) and ti) are two eonieal rolls carried by the shafts l1 and 42 above the level of the tahle 51. 43 and H are two more similar rolls mounted bel w the level of the table on the shafts 45 and ll). The shafts l5 and 413 are innntaliately below the shafts l1 and lid and are driven by a system of gears 47. 4 ll 5t! and 51. the gears 48 and at being respertixely on the shafts it; and 45. 5'3 and 53 are gears mounted on the shafts it and ti? whieh are-driven from eorresponding gears earried by the shafts 45 and til. The shafts t! and 4:2 are provided with a suita lile hearing preferably adjustable. as at for holding the rones Ill.) and H) into t't'ietional engagement with the stoek as it. is fed along. The shafts are inelined toward the direction in whieh the steel; is moving. As the eones are rotated the strands of the stoek are gripped between the surl ai-es ol the upper and lower eones and drawn outwardly so as to form the expanded slot-k 53. 5G and 57 indicate a. pair oi rolls shaped like the t'rustums oi runes whieh may be employed for giving a further expansion to the stoek, as shown at 58. A similar pair of rolls is mounted larneath and .37. These rones hear only on the outer edges of the stock and their eonjoint artinn is silflii'ient. to expand the ventral portion of the stoek. 5t) and (it) are the delivery rolls wliirh eontinually smooth the metal as it. eoines from the draw rolls and la-ep it under sutlieient tensiiltt. o tho the operation of the draw rolls is uniform. The lower delivery roll is lll\ltl by gears lit and 52. while the upper roll i driven from a gear on the lower roll shalt. meshing with gear 63 on the upper roll shal't. it is not neressaiw to show the details of gearing. rs they will be readily understoia in the diagram of Fi H the stock is slitted by the rolls ilil il l is passed between the rolls Sal "336'. expanded by the rolls 39 lit. 7a. fih'. and smoothed by the rolls 5t) and m. ill and 3.3 are two rollers adapted to izoi-rug ate the expanded strip transversely to farm the stoelt illustrated diagrammatieally at 3' This may be rolled up in a rail. as M. for eonveuienre in handling. ()t eourse the eorrugmtiing rolls (34 and't55 may be omitted if desired. but by their use it is possible to ronstraet expanded metal having any shape or eliartu'ter desired by sin ply properly designing the rolls (l4 and 65. The steelt; tltdetimrett from the rolls 30- llll ward their bases. T to result is that the moves along. cones is graduated so as to 30' in Fig. 9, may also he coiled continuously if desired. It is a c mvenient form of handling the stock when it is manufactured in long strips. It is possible to coil the complctely expanded metal formed in this way with rapidity. The peripheral speed of the conical rolls 39 and 40 and their corres mnding lower rolls l3 and 4-}, of course changes gradually from the a ices of the cones toouter portion of the slitted strip is acted upon at a greater rate of speed, and the expansion along the outer edge is more rapid. This action is transmitted through the material being acted upon toward the center, however, so that the central portion is acted upon not only by the tips of the cones di' rectly but ii'ldirectly through the tension in the stock. The same general operation is true of the cones 56 and 57. The taper of the cones and the angles which their axes make relative to the line of feed of the stock, will depend upon the proportion of expansion which it is desired to effect in the material, upon the speed of travel of the strip, and upon the length of the slits in the'strip.

ins. 5 and 6 illustrate the mechanism For expanding an obliquely slitted strip and the method of expansion. ()8 indicates the strip which has. previouslv been slitted in lines oblique to the length of the strip, the slits overlapping or alternating relative to one another. 69,70, 71., T2, T3 and 74 indicate a series of cones, the angle of the taper of which is obtuse, as shown particuhirly in Fig. 7. Bclowthe line of travel of tlw is located a series of corresponding cones. Three of these are shown in Fin. 6 and are indicated at 35'', T1 and T3. strip of maj terial may he said to he made up ol two older I continuous strands T5 and TI'. and the central strand 7T, (TUHIJUCtGLl to the outer strands by l the strands TH and TH. It is preferred to ac l complish the expanding; action gradually. series of cones are therefore pr vi-lcd,j and their frictional or gripping snrlhccs arr l located so as to cooperate w ith the strip as it Thc peripheral spccd ol the corresj'mml will: the relative movement of the outer mines of l the material. The rolls RH and $0 may he provided to cooperate with the action of the conical rolls so as to produce a uniform expanding action. This product l claim in an ther application #lllJlSIl tiled July (1, I966.

The gripping surfaces of the roll in all three types of my invention may he perfectly smooth if desired. so as to produce a smooth product. This will, of course. require the application of considerable pressu e in order to produce the friction necessary for the ewe pandiug! action. The surfaces of the rolls may, howmer. he roiu hci'u-d or provid d with teeth. grin-Yes, corrugations. or projections for assisting in the drawing action. The particular character of surface employed will depend upon the finish required in the product. The method or art of manufacture and the mechanism employed are of such character as to permit of a wide range of variations in tlleprmlnct. The product is flat and has all bonds and strands lying in the same plane. By preserving each bond and the portions of strands adjacent thereto in t hesam e plane,nnu:h grea ter strength of the product is provided. The flat product may be converted into a roughened or irregular product more suitable for certain characters of work by subjecting it to a corrugating action. By deferring the corrugatii-lg action until after the complete expansion, many of the advantages of the Hat bond and strand construction are preserved. The product, as a consequence of the process of manufacture. is particularly adapted for transportation and handling, since it may he readily coiled up. I do not wish it understood, however. that I consider the invention as limited to the operation on long strips, since for certain classes of work the invention is peculiarly applicable to the pr0dnction of large plates.

The frictional engagement herein referred to is such engagement as results from the use of smooth or substantially smooth surfaces whereby slippage of the material between the surfaces is possible.

Nhat I claim is:

1. A machine for forming expanded metal, consisting of means for continuously feeding a slitted strip, and means for fricti nally engaging and continuously operating upon the strip to open the 'its in a single plane.

2. .1\ machine for forming expanded metal, consisting of rolls for feeding a slittcd strip. and means for simultaneously opening all the slits of a sil'igle row and re taining the bonds and strands in a single plane.

I). ,inachine for Forming expanded metal. including a plurality of pairs of rolls l'or t'rictionally engaging the surfaces of a slittcd strip and opening the slits laterally in a single plane.

A machine metal. including lor l'rictionally slittcd strip and one of said pairs surface speed.

5. In a machine for expanding sheet metal, means for slitting; the metal. rolls for rolling and flattening the slitted stock. means for continuously op rating upon the slitted stock to open the slits and at the same time retain the bonds and stands in a sinfor ffil'llllllg expanded a plurality of pairs of rolls engaging the surfaces of a opening the slits laterally, of rolls lltl\'lll, a diflcrcnt gle plane.

6.111 a machine for expanding sheet iiJU metal, a pair of rolls for continuously feeding and holding the slitted stock, and a second pair of rolls for continuously and frictionally operating upon the stock to open the slits.

T. In a machine for forming expanded sheet metal. means for feeding a slitted strip. means for continuously operating on the slitted strip to open the slits in the plane of the. original stock. and rolls for corrugating the expanded strip.

8. In a machine for expanding a previously slitted sheet of metal. a plurality of pairs of friction rolls haxingdifl'erential peripheral speeds for engaging the surfaces of the metal and opening the slits.

9. In a machine sheets previously slitted transversely, a plurality of pairs of cylindrical friction rolls for engaging the opposite surfaces of the metal. and means for giving the rolls differential peripheral speeds.

10. In a machine for expanding metal. means for slitting the stock to form strands. means for opening the slits and separating the strands. and rolls for rolling and smoothing the expanded product to set the strands and onds in a. single flat plane.

11. In :1 machine for expanding slitteo metal. rolls for separating the strands of a Hat slitted sheet and preserving them with the honds in the plane of the original stock.

12. In a machine for expanding slitted metal. means for continuously but gradually separating the strands. and rolls for con' tiuuously smoothing the product and set ting the honds and strands in the same plane.

[3. in a machine for expanding sliited metal strips. means for separating the strands in one plane. and rolls for corrugah ing the product transversely ol the line ol l'eed.

1-1. t machine for expanding a slitted sheet which comprises rolls l'or llattening the slitted stock. and rolls-tor performing the double function of stretching and flattoning the product.

19:. machine for expanding a. slitted sheet comprising means for snhjeeting a limited portion to a gradual stretching acti n and meausl'or again gradually stretching the same portion to snhstantially the same proportional extent while a previously umreated portion is heing subjected to the lirst action.

16. machine l'orexpzinding slitl'ed sheets comprising rolls l or stretching and tlallcn in; the stock and other rolls l' r again stretching and flattening the partially ex panded product while previously untreated stock is being subjected to the first action.

17. A machine for expanding slitted sheets comprising means for stretching the slittcd stock and rolls for rolling the product to set the bonds and strands in a. single plane.

for expanding metal 18. A machine for expanding slitted sheets comprising means for feedin the stock at a certain speed, means for app ying a stretching force at a speed to produce the desired total expansion and means for applying an intermediate stretching force whereby the total effective stretching action is divided into definite gradual steps.

19: A machine for expanding slitted sheets including rolls for drawing out the strands of a transversely slitted sheet in the direction of the line of feed and flattening the product.

Whirl} includes a pair of smooth rolls for engaging the surfaces of the stock and opening the slits without turning the strands on edge.

21. A machine for forming expanded metal which includes three or more pairs of rolls having differential peripheral speeds, the excess of speed of the succeeding rolls heing proportioned to the distance of their gripping surfaces from the gripping surfaces of the first pair.

22. In a machine for forming expanded metal from stock slitted in Staggered a1- rangement. means for flattening the slitted o h. means for expanding the same, means ha flattening partially expanded stock. means .zn' continuing the expansion and means for finally flattening the same.

2'5. in a machine for forming expanded metal from stock slitted in staggered? arrangement. means for flattening the slitted stock. means for expam'ling the same, means for l'laltening partially expanded stock and mean l'or continuing the expansion.

24. in a machine for expanding. slitted liit'li. means for flattening the stock, means l'or opening the slits to expand the stock and means For llattening the expanded stock and setting the bonds and strands in a single plane.

25. In a machine for forming expanded metal from stock slitted in staggered arrangement. means for expanding the slitted stock. means for flattening the partially expandcd stock. means for continuing the expansion and means for finally flattening the product and setting the bonds and strands in a. single plane.

metal from stock slitted in staggered arrangement. means for expanding the slitted slot-k. means for flattening the, partially expanded stock and setting the bonds and strands in a common plane and means for continuing the expansion of said stock.

27. in a. machine for expanding slitted sheet metal. a table for supporting the stitted metal stock and a plurality of pairs i 1" smooth rolls for successively acting upon inn dined stock and serving to draw the l stock through and feed the stock out of the 20. A machine for expanding slitted sheets 2|). in a machine for lormin exranded and open the slits and means for (Inn-um; the expanded sheet from smd h'lctmn roll nnu-hlnu and to set it alnl overcoming the lumlem-y of the expanded stock to bnekle.

:28. In :1 nnu'hine for expanding a previously slitted sheet of metal a plurality of pairs of friction rolls having differential peripheral speeds for engaging the oppo site surfaces of the sheet to stretch the sheet vionsly slitted. sheet of 1netal,-.a plurality Corrections in Letters Pate'nt No. 1,103,033.

and open the slits and means forth-wrung; the expanded sheet from said friction mu" NORRIS ELMORE CLARK of. pairs of friction rolls having difieren'tia l \Vitnesses: peripheral speeds for engaging the oppo- A. V. 131mm,..- site snrfaccso'f the sheet to stretchthe sheet Y Y D. G. CLARK.

llmt'llillu and to set it and overcoming the tendency of the expanded stock to buckle.

28,111 .1 machine for expand nga pre- It is hereby certified that in Letters Patent No. 1,103,033, granted July 14,4914, upon the application of Norris Elmore Clark, of Plainville, Connecticut, for an imgro :ment inv Apparatus for Manufacturing'ltxpanded Metal, errors appear in the printed gpeciiication .regiiiringcorrection as follows: Page 1, line 13, for the article The, first occurrence, read One, page 2, line for the word ""farther" readfm't/aer page 3, line 36, after the article the, second occurrence, insert the word strip; and that the said Letters Patent Should he read with these corrections therein that the same may conform to the record of' the casein the Patent Ofiice.-

Signed and sealed this-11th day of Aiigust, A. D, 1914:.

[SEAL-1 w J. T. NEWTON,

Acting Commissioner f Patents.

It is hereby certified that in Letters Patent No. 1,103,033, granted July 14,1914, upon the application of Norris Elmore Clark, of Plainville, Connecticut, for an impro :ment in Apparatus for Manufacturing Expanded Metal, errors appear in the printed epecification requiring correction as follows: Page 1, line 13, for the article The, first occurrence, read One; page 2, line 11, for the word fai-ther" read further; page 3, line 36, after the article the, second occurrence, insert the word strip; and that the said Letters Patent should be read with these corrections therein that the same may conform to the record of the ease in the Patent Oflice.

Signed and sealed this 11th day of August, A. 6., 1914.

[emu] J. T. NEWTON,

' Acting Commissioner of Patents. 

